Analogues of glp-1

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are peptide analogues of glucagon-like peptide-1, the pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof, methods of using such analogues to treat mammals and pharmaceutical compositions useful therefor comprising said analogues.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to peptide analogues of glucagon-like peptide-1, the pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof, to methods of using such analogues to treat mammals and to pharmaceutical compositions useful therefor comprising said analogues.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (7-36) amide (GLP-1) is synthesized in the intestinal L-cells by tissue-specific post-translational processing of the glucagon precursor preproglucagon (Varndell, J. M., et al., J. Histochem Cytochem, 1985:33:1080-6) and is released into the circulation in response to a meal. The plasma concentration of GLP-1 rises from a fasting level of approximately 15 pmol/L to a peak postprandial level of 40 pmol/L. It has been demonstrated that, for a given rise in plasma glucose concentration, the increase in plasma insulin is approximately threefold greater when glucose is administered orally compared with intravenously (Kreymann, B., et al., Lancet 1987:2, 1300-4). This alimentary enhancement of insulin release, known as the incretin effect, is primarily humoral and GLP-1 is now thought to be the most potent physiological incretin in humans. In addition to the insulinotropic effect, GLP-1 suppresses glucagon secretion, delays gastric emptying (Wettergren A., et al., Dig Dis Sci 1993:38:665-73) and may enhance peripheral glucose disposal (D'Alessio, D. A. et al., J. Clin Invest 1994:93:2293-6).

In 1994, the therapeutic potential of GLP-1 was suggested following the observation that a single subcutaneous (s/c) dose of GLP-1 could completely normalize postprandial glucose levels in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) (Gutniak, M. K., et al., Diabetes Care 1994:17:1039-44). This effect was thought to be mediated both by increased insulin release and by a reduction in glucagon secretion. Furthermore, an intravenous infusion of GLP-1 has been shown to delay postprandial gastric emptying in patients with NIDDM (Williams, B., et al., J. Clin Endo Metab 1996:81:327-32). Unlike sulphonylureas, the insulinotropic action of GLP-1 is dependent on plasma glucose concentration (Holz, G. G. 4^(th), et al., Nature 1993:361:362-5). Thus, the loss of GLP-1-mediated insulin release at low plasma glucose concentration protects against severe hypoglycemia. This combination of actions gives GLP-1 unique potential therapeutic advantages over other agents currently used to treat NIDDM.

Numerous studies have shown that when given to healthy subjects, GLP-1 potently influences glycemic levels as well as insulin and glucagon concentrations (Orskov, C, Diabetologia 35:701-711, 1992; Holst, J. J., et al., Potential of GLP-1 in diabetes management in Glucagon III, Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, Lefevbre P J, Ed. Berlin, Springer Verlag, 1996, p. 311-326), effects which are glucose dependent (Kreymann, B., et al., Lancet ii:1300-1304, 1987; Weir, G. C., et al., Diabetes 38:338-342, 1989). Moreover, it is also effective in patients with diabetes (Gutniak, M., N. Engl' J Med 226:1316-1322, 1992; Nathan, D. M., et al., Diabetes Care 15:270-276, 1992), normalizing blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetic subjects (Nauck, M. A., et al., Diagbetologia 36:741-744, 1993), and improving glycemic control in type 1 patients (Creutzfeldt, W. O., et al., Diabetes Care 19:580-586, 1996), raising the possibility of its use as a therapeutic agent.

GLP-1 is, however, metabolically unstable, having a plasma half-life (t_(1/2)) of only 1-2 min in vivo. Exogenously administered GLP-1 is also rapidly degraded (Deacon, C. F., et al., Diabetes 44:1126-1131, 1995). This metabolic instability limits the therapeutic potential of native GLP-1. Hence, there is a need for GLP-1 analogues that are more active and/or are more metabolically stable than native GLP-1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect the invention features a compound according to formula (I), (R²R³)-A⁷-A⁸-A⁹-A¹⁰-A¹¹-A¹²-A¹³-A¹⁴-A¹⁵-A¹⁶-A¹⁷-A¹⁸-A¹⁹-A²⁰-A²¹-A²²-A²³-A²⁴-A²⁵-A²⁶-A²⁷-A²⁸-A²⁹- A³⁰-A³¹-A³²-A³³-A³⁴-A³⁵A³⁶-A³⁷-A³⁸-A³⁹-A¹, (I)

wherein

A⁷ is L-His, Ura, Paa, Pta, Amp, Tma-His, des-amino-His, or deleted;

A⁸ is Ala, β-Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, Acc, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly;

A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu, N-Me-Asp or Asp;

A¹⁰ is Gly, Acc, β-Ala or Aib;

A¹¹ is Thr or Ser;

A¹² is Phe, Acc, Aic, Aib, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Cha, Trp or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe;

A¹³ is Thr or Ser;

A¹⁴ is Ser or Aib;

A¹⁵ is Asp or Glu;

A¹⁶ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Abu, Ala or Cha;

A¹⁷ is Ser, Aib or Thr;

A¹⁸ is Ser, Lys or Thr;

A¹⁹ is Tyr, Cha, Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Acc or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe;

A²⁰ is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Val, Phe or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe;

A²¹ is Glu or Asp;

A²² is Gly, Acc, β-Ala, Glu or Aib;

A²³ is Gln, Asp, Asn or Glu;

A²⁴ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu; Tle or Acc;

A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O);

A²⁶ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl)), HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O);

A²⁷ is Glu, Asp, Leu, Aib or Lys;

A²⁸ is Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe, Aic, Acc, Aib, Cha or Trp;

A²⁹ is Ile, Acc, Aib, Leu, Nle, Cha, Tle, Val, Abu, Ala or Phe;

A³⁰ is Ala, Aib or Acc;

A³¹ is Trp, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Phe, Acc, Aib, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Cha;

A³² is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Phe, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Ala;

A³³ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Cha, Ala, Phe, Abu, Lys or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe;

A³⁴ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O);

A³⁵ is β-Ala, D-Ala, Gaba, Ava, HN—(CH₂)_(m)—C(O), Aib, Acc, D-Arg or a D-amino acid;

A³⁶ is L- or D-Arg, D- or L-Lys, or Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl) or Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl) or D- or L-hArg, D- or L-Orn or HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O), or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O);

A³⁷ is Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Aib, Acc, Act, Apc, Aun, Ava, Pro, Dhp, Dmt, Pip, 3-Hpr, 4-Hpr, L- or D- Arg, L- or D- Asp or Glu, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-tetradecanoyl), or Ser(O-decanoyl);

A³⁸ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gln, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Ava, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, or HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O);

A³⁹ is D- or L- His, L- dr D-Ala, Asn, Gln, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Aun, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O), or deleted;

R¹ is OH, NH₂; (C₁-C₃₀)alkoxy, or NH—X²—CH₂-Z⁰, wherein X² is a (C₀-C₂), (C₄-C₉) or (C₁₁-C₁₉)hydrocarbon moiety and Z⁰ is H, OH, CO₂H or CONH₂;

or —C(O)—NHR¹², wherein X⁴ is, independently for each occurrence, —C(O)—, —NH—C(O)— or —CH₂—, and wherein f is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 29 inclusive; each of R² and R³ is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, optionally substituted phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, optionally substituted naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, and hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl;

wherein the phenyl group of said optionally substituted phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl moiety, and said naphthyl group of said optionally substituted naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl moiety each is, independently for each occurrence, substituted with 1 or more substituents selected, independently for each occurrence, from the group consisting of halo, OH, NH₂, NO₂ and CN; or one of R² and R³ is

(C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, C(O)X⁵,

wherein Y is H, OH or NH₂; r is 0 to 4; q is O to 4; and X⁵ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰ for each occurrence is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, OH, OR⁴, NO₂, CN, and halo; R⁴ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; e is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 4 inclusive; m is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 5 to 24 inclusive; s is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 5 to 10 or from 12 to 20 inclusive; n is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive; each of R¹⁰ and R¹¹ is, independently for each occurrence, H, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

and R¹² and R¹³ each is, independently for each occurrence, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; provided that: when A⁷ is Ura, Paa or Pta, then R² and R³ are deleted; when R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

then R¹¹ is H or (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; (i) at least one amino acid of a compound of formula (I) is not the same as the native sequence of hGLP-1(7-38 or -39)NH₂ or hGLP-1(7-38 or -39)OH; (ii) a compound of formula (I) is not an analogue of hGLP-1(7-38 or -39)NH₂ or hGLP-1(7-38, or -39)OH wherein a single position has been substituted by Ala; (iii) a compound of formula (I) is not (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)-E, (Lys²⁶(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E, (Lys³⁴(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E, (Lys^(26,34)-bis(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E, (Arg²⁶, Lys³⁴(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(8-38)-E, (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁶(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E or (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁹(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E, wherein E is —OH or —NH₂; (iv) a compound of formula (I) is not Z¹-hGLP-1(7-38)-OH, Z¹-hGLP-1(7-38)-NH₂; wherein Z¹ is selected from the group consisting of:

-   -   (a) (Arg²⁶), (Arg³⁴), (Arg^(26,34)), (Lys³⁶)) (Arg²⁶, Lys³⁶),         (Arg³⁴, Lys³⁶), (D-Lys³⁶), (Arg³⁶), (D-Arg³⁶), (Arg^(26,34),         Lys³⁶) or (Arg^(26,36), Lys³⁴);     -   (b) (Asp²¹);     -   (c) at least one of (Aib⁸), (D-Ala⁸) and (Asp⁹); and     -   (d) (Tyr⁷), (N-acyl-His⁷), (N-alkyl-His⁷), (N-acyl-D-His⁷) or         (N-alkyl-D-His⁷); and         (v) a compound of formula (I) is not a combination of any two of         the substitutions listed in groups (a) to (d); or a         pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing compound is where A¹¹ is Thr; A¹³ is Thr; A¹⁵ is Asp; A¹⁷ is Ser; A¹⁸ is Ser or Lys; A²¹ is Glu; A²³ is Gln or Glu; A²⁷ is Glu, Leu, Aib or Lys; and A³¹ is Trp, Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is where A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu or N-Me-Asp; A¹² is Phe, Acc, 1Nal, 2Nal, or Aic; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc or Aib; A¹⁹ is Tyr, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc or Cha; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁸ is Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁹ is Ile or Acc; A³⁰ is Ala or Aib; A³² is Leu, Acc or Cha; and A³³ is Val, Lys or Acc; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is where A⁸ is Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c, D-Arg or Acc; A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro, Asp, Aun or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Apc, Act, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, Thr or Aib; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is where X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; and R¹ is OH or NH₂; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is where R² is H and R³ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl,

A preferred group of the compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, is where R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl or

A preferred group of the compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, is where R¹⁰ is (C₄-C₂₀)acyl, (C₄-C₂₀)alkylsulfonyl or

A preferred compound of the formula (I) is where A⁸ is Ala, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c or D-Arg; and A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, G-Ala, D-Ala, Pro or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, or deleted; X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; e for each occurrence is independently 1 or 2; R¹ is OH or NH₂; R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl or

and R¹¹ is H; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

More preferred of the immediately foregoing compounds is where R¹⁰ is (C₄-C₂₀)acyl, (C₄-C₂₀)alkylsulfonyl or

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A more preferred compound of formula (I) is where said compound is the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

More preferred of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is a compound of the formula:

(Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Pro³⁷, Ser^(38,39))hGLP-1(7-39)-NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Asn³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)-NH₂;

(Aib^(8,36,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Ser³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(28,34), Phe³¹, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35), Arg^(28,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁷, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), β-Ala³⁷, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(28,34), Phe³¹, Ava³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Ava³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹ D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹ Gly³s)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁷, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34) Phe³¹β-Ala^(37,38))hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; or

(Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂;

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a compound according to formula (II), R⁷-A⁸-A⁹-A¹⁰-A¹¹-A¹²-A¹³-A¹⁴-A¹⁵-A¹⁶-A¹⁷-A¹⁸-A¹⁹-A²⁰-A²¹-A²²-A²³-A²⁴-A²⁵-A²⁶-A²⁷A²⁸-A²⁹-A³⁰-A³¹-A³²-A³³-A³⁴-A³⁵A³⁶-A³⁷-A³⁸-A³⁹-R¹, (II) wherein

A⁸ is Ala, β-Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, Acc, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu, N-Me-Asp or Asp; A¹⁰ is Gly, Acc, β-Ala or Aib; A¹¹ is Thr or Ser; A¹² is Phe, Acc, Aic, Aib, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Cha, Trp or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A¹³ is Thr or Ser; A¹⁴ is Ser or Aib; A¹⁵ is Asp or Glu; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Abu, Ala or Cha; A¹⁷ is Ser, Aib or Thr; A¹⁸ is Ser, Lys or Thr; A¹⁹ is Tyr, Cha, Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Acc or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Val, Phe or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A²¹ is Glu or Asp; A²² is Gly, Acc, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²³ is Gln, Asp, Asn or Glu; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁶ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl)), HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁷ is Glu Asp, Leu, Aib or Lys; A²⁸ is Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe, Aic, Acc, Aib, Cha or Trp; A²⁹ is Ile, Acc, Aib, Leu, Nle, Cha, Tle, Val, Abu, Ala or Phe; A³⁰ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A³¹ is Trp, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Phe, Acc, Aib, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Cha; A³² is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Phe, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Ala; A³³ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Cha, Ala, Phe, Abu, Lys or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A³⁴ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A³⁵ is β-Ala, D-Ala, Gaba, Ava, HN—(CH₂)_(m)—C(O), Aib, Acc, D-Arg, a D-amino acid or deleted; A³⁶ is L- or D-Arg, D- or L-Lys, or Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl) or Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl) or D- or L-hArg, D- or L-Orn or HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O), HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O), or deleted; A³⁷ is Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Aib, Acc, Act, Apc, Aun, Ava, Pro, Dhp, Dmt, Pip, 3-Hpr, 4-Hpr, L- or D- Arg, L- or D- Asp or Glu, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-tetradecanoyl), Ser(O-decanoyl), or deleted; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gln, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Ava, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O), or deleted; A³⁹ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gln, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Aun, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O), or deleted; R¹ is OH, NH₂; (C₁-C₃₀)alkoxy, or NH—X²—CH₂-Z⁰, wherein X² is a (C₀-C₂₀)hydrocarbon moiety and Z⁰ is H, OH, CO₂H or CONH₂;

or —C(O)—NHR¹², wherein X⁴ is, independently for each occurrence, —C(O)—, —NH—C(O)— or —CH₂—, and wherein f is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 29 inclusive; X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰ for each occurrence is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, OH, OR⁴, NO₂, CN, and halo; R⁴ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; Z¹,Z²,Z³,Z⁴,Z⁵ for each occurrence is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, OH, OR⁴, NO₂, CN, and halo; Z¹ and Z² can joint together to form a ring system; e is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 4 inclusive; m is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 5 to 24 inclusive; n is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive; t is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 0 to 4, inclusive; each of R¹⁰ and R¹¹ is, independently for each occurrence, H, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

and R¹² and R¹³ each is, independently for each occurrence, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; provided that: R⁷ is not C(O)X¹¹, wherein X¹¹ is phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; when R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

then R¹¹ is H or (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing compound is where A¹¹ is Thr; A¹³ is Thr; A¹⁵ is Asp; A¹⁷ is Ser; A¹⁸ is Ser or Lys; A²¹ is Glu; A²³ is Gln or Glu; A²⁷ is Glu, Leu, Aib or Lys; and A³¹ is Trp, Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is where A⁷ is 4-imidazol-carbonyl, 4-nitrophenyl-acetyl, 3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl, 4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl, 3-(4-aminophenyl)-propionyl, 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-propionyl, 3-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-propionyl, 3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl or 4-aminophenyl-acetyl; A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu or N-Me-Asp; A¹² is Phe, Acc, 1Nal, 2Nal or Aic; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc or Aib; A¹⁹ is Tyr, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc or Cha; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁸ is Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁹ is Ile or Acc; A³⁰ is Ala or Aib; A³² is Leu, Acc or Cha; and A³³ is Val, Lys or Acc; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is where A⁸ is Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c, D-Arg, Acc or Gly; A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro, Asp, Aun or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Apc, Act, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, Thr or Aib; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred group of compounds of the immediately foregoing group of compounds is where X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; and R¹ is OH or NH₂; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A preferred compound of the formula (II) is where A⁸ is Ala, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c D-Arg or Gly; and A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser. Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, or deleted; X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; e for each occurrence is independently 1 or 2; R¹ is OH or NH₂; R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl or

and R¹¹ is H; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

More preferred of the immediately foregoing compounds is where R¹⁰ is (C₄-C₂₀)acyl, (C₄-C₂₀)alkylsulfonyl or

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A more preferred compound of formula (II) is where said compound is of the formula:

(4Hppa⁷)GLP-1 (7-36)NH₂;

(3Hppa⁷)GLP-1(7-36)NH₂;

(phenylacetyl⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂;

((3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂;

((4-imidazol-carbonyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((4-nitrophenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl)⁷) hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((4-hydroxyphenylacetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((4-aminophenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-phenyl-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-(4-aminophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-(4-nitrophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

((3-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; or

((3-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂;

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

A more preferred compound of formula (II) is where said compound is the pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Another more preferred compound of formula (I) or (II) is each of the compounds that are specifically enumerated hereinbelow in the Examples section of the present disclosure, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of a compound of formula (I) or (II) as defined hereinabove or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.

In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method of eliciting an agonist effect from a GLP-1 receptor in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of a compound of formula (I) or (II) as defined hereinabove or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method of treating a disease selected from the group consisting of Type I diabetes, Type II diabetes, obesity, glucagonomas, secretory disorders of the airway, metabolic disorder, arthritis, osteoporosis, central nervous system disease, restenosis, neurodegenerative disease, renal failure, congestive heart failure, nephrotic syndrome, cirrhosis, pulmonary edema, hypertension, treatment of respiratory distress (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0235726 A1) and disorders wherein the reduction of food intake is desired, in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of a compound of formula (I) or (II) as defined hereinabove or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. A preferred method of the immediately foregoing method is where the disease being treated is Type I diabetes or Type II diabetes. GLP-1 analogues of the present invention that elicit an antagonist effect from a subject can be used for treating the following: hypoglycemia and malabsorption syndrome associated with gastroectomy or small bowel resection.

With the exception of the N-terminal amino acid, all abbreviations (e.g. Ala) of amino acids in this disclosure stand for the structure of —NH—CH(R)—CO—, wherein R and R′ each is, independently, hydrogen or the side chain of an amino acid (e.g., R═CH₃ and R′=H for Ala) or R and R′ may be joined to form a ring system. For the N-terminal amino acid, the abbreviation stands for the structure of ═N—C(R)(R′)—CO—, wherein “═” represents the bonds to R² and R³, defined herein. R² and R³ are as defined above, except when A⁷ is Ura, Paa or Pta, in which case R² and R³ are not present since Ura, Paa and Pta are considered here as des-amino amino acids.

The application employs the following commonly understood abbreviations: Abu α-aminobutyric acid Acc 1-amino-1-cyclo(C₃—C₉)alkyl carboxylic acid A3c 1-amino-1-cyclopropanecarboxylic acid A4c 1-amino-1-cyclobutanecarboxylic acid A5c 1-amino-1-cyclopentanecarboxylic acid A6c 1-amino-1-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid Act 4-amino-4-carboxytetrahydropyran Ado 12-aminododecanoic acid Aec 4-(2-aminoethyl)-1-carboxymethyl-piperazine

Aib α-aminoisobutyric acid Aic 2-aminoindan-2-carboxylic acid Ala or A alanine β-Ala beta-alanine Amp 4-amino-phenylalanine; Apc 4-amino-4-carboxypiperidine: Arg or R arginine hArg homoarginine Asn or N asparagine Asp or D aspartic acid Aun 11-aminoundecanoic acid Ava 5-aminovaleric acid Cha β-cyclohexylalanine Dhp 3,4-dehydroproline Dmt 5,5-dimethylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid Gaba γ-aminobutyric acid Gln or Q glutamine Glu or E glutamic acid Gly or G glycine His or H histidine 4Hppa 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid 3Hppa 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid 3Hyp trans-3-hydroxy-L-proline (i.e., (2S, 3S)-3-hydroxypyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid) 4Hyp 4-hydroxyproline (i.e., (2S, 4R)-4-hydroxypyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid) Ile or I isoleucine Leu or L leucine Lys or K lysine 1Nal β-(1-naphthyl)alanine 2Nal β-(2-naphthyl)alanine Nle norleucine N-Me-Ala N-methyl-alanine; N-Me-Asp N-methyl-aspartic acid N-Me-Glu N-methyl-glutamic acid; N-Me-Gly N-methyl-glycine; Nva norvaline Orn ornithine Paa trans-3-(3-pyridyl) acrylic acid; 2Pal β-(2-pyridinyl)alanine 3Pal β-(3-pyridinyl)alanine 4Pal β-(4-pyridinyl)alanine Phe or F phenylalanine (3,4,5F)Phe 3,4,5-trifluorophenylalanine (2,3,4,5,6)Phe 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenylalanine Pip pipecolic acid Pro or P proline Pta (4-pyridylthio) acetic acid; Ser or S serine Thr or T threonine Tle tert-leucine Tma-His N,N-tetramethylamidino-histidine; Trp or W tryptophan Tyr or Y tyrosine Ura urocanic acid. Val or V valine

Certain other abbreviations used herein are defined as follows: 2BrZ 2-bromobenzyloxycarbonyl 2ClZ 2-chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl Boc: tert-butyloxycarbonyl Bzl: benzyl DCM: dichloromethane DIC: N,N-diisopropylcarbodiimide DIEA: diisopropylethyl amine Dmab: 4-{N-(1-(4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohexylidene)- 3-methylbutyl)-amino} benzyl DMAP: 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine DMF dimethylformamide DNP: 2,4-dinitrophenyl Fm formyl Fmoc: 9-Fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl HBTU: 2-(1H-benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate cHex cyclohexyl HF hydrogen fluoride, HOAT: O-(7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate HOBt: 1-hydroxy-benzotriazole Mmt: 4-methoxytrityl NMP: N-methylpyrrolidone OcHex O-cyclohexyl PAM 4-hydroxymethylphenylacetamidomethyl resin resin Pbf: 2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyldihydrobenzofuran-5-sulfonyl tBu: tert-butyl TIS: triisopropylsilane TOS: tosyl trt trityl TFA: trifluoro acetic acid TFFH: tetramethylfluoroforamidinium hexafluorophosphate Xan xanthyl Z: benzyloxycarbonyl

In the above formula, hydroxyalkyl, hydroxyphenylalkyl, and hydroxynaphthylalkyl may contain 1-4 hydroxy substituents. COX⁵ stands for —C═O.X⁵. Examples of —C═O.X⁵ include, but are not limited to, acetyl and phenylpropionyl.

What is meant by Lys(N^(ε)-alkanoyl) is represented by the following structure:

What is meant by Lys(N^(ε)-alkylsulfonyl) is represented by the following structure:

What is meant by Lys(N^(ε)-(2-(4-alkyl-1-piperazine)-acetyl)) is represented by the following structure:

What is meant by Asp(1-(4-alkyl-piperazine)) is represented by the following structure:

What is meant by Asp(1-alkylamino) is represented by the following structure:

What is meant by Lys(N^(ε)-Aec-alkanoyl) is represented by the structure:

The variable n in the foregoing structures is 1-30. Lys(N^(ε)-Aec-alkanoyl) is represented by the structure:

The term “halo” encompasses fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo.

The term “(C₁-C₃₀)hydrocarbon moiety” encompasses alkyl, alkenyl and alkynyl, and in the case of alkenyl and alkynyl there are C₂-C₃₀.

A peptide of this invention is also denoted herein by another format, e.g., (A5c⁸)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂; with the substituted amino acids from the natural sequence placed between the first set of parentheses (e.g., A5c⁸ for Ala⁸ in hGLP-1). The abbreviation GLP-1 means glucagon-like peptide-1; hGLP-1 means human glucagon-like peptide-1. The numbers between the parentheses refer to the number of amino acids present in the peptide (e.g., hGLP-1(7-36) is amino acids 7 through 36 of the peptide sequence for human GLP-1). The sequence for hGLP-1(7-37) is listed in Mojsov, S., Int. J. Peptide Protein Res,. 40, 1992, pp. 333-342. The designation “NH₂” in hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂ indicates that the C-terminus of the peptide is amidated. hGLP-1(7-36) means that the C-terminus is the free acid. In hGLP-1(7-38), residues in positions 37 and 38 are Gly and Arg, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The peptides of this invention can be prepared by standard solid phase peptide synthesis. See, e.g., Stewart, J. M., et al., Solid Phase Synthesis (Pierce Chemical Co., 2d ed. 1984). The substituents R² and R³ of the above generic formula may be attached to the free amine of the N-terminal amino acid by standard methods known in the art. For example, alkyl groups, e.g., (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, may be attached using reductive alkylation. Hydroxyalkyl groups, e.g., (C₁-C₃₀)hydroxyalkyl, may also be attached using reductive alkylation wherein the free hydroxy group is protected with a t-butyl ester. Acyl groups, e.g., COE¹, may be attached by coupling the free acid, e.g., E¹COOH, to the free amine of the N-terminal amino acid by mixing the completed resin with 3 molar equivalents of both the free acid and diisopropylcarbodiimide in methylene chloride for one hour. If the free acid contains a free hydroxy group, e.g., 3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, then the coupling should be performed with an additional 3 molar equivalents of HOBT.

When R¹ is NH—X²—CH₂—CONH₂; (i.e., Z⁰═CONH₂), the synthesis of the peptide starts with BocHN—X²—CH₂—COOH which is coupled to the MBHA resin. If R¹ is NH—X²—CH₂—COOH, (i.e., Z⁰═COOH) the synthesis of the peptide starts with Boc-HN—X²—CH₂—COOH which is coupled to PAM resin. For this particular step, 4 molar equivalents of Boc-HN—X²—COOH, HBTU and HOBt and 10 molar equivalents of DIEA are used. The coupling time is about 8 hours.

In the synthesis of a GLP-1 analogue of this invention containing A5c, A6c, and/or Aib, the coupling time is 2 hrs for these residues and the residue immediately following them.

The substituents R² and R³ of the above generic formula can be attached to the free amine of the N-terminal amino acid by standard methods known in the art. For example, alkyl groups, e.g., (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, can be attached using reductive alkylation. Hydroxyalkyl groups, e.g., (C₁-C₃₀)hydroxyalkyl, can also be attached using reductive alkylation wherein the free hydroxy group is protected with a t-butyl ester. Acyl groups, e.g., COX⁵, can be attached by coupling the free acid, e.g., X⁵COOH, to the free amine of the N-terminal amino acid by mixing the completed resin with 3 molar equivalents of both the free acid and diisopropylcarbodiimide in methylene chloride for about one hour. If the free acid contains a free hydroxy group, e.g., 3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, then the coupling should be performed with an additional 3 molar equivalents of HOBT.

The peptides of this invention can be provided in the form of pharmaceutically acceptable salts. Examples of such salts include, but are not limited to, those formed with organic acids (e.g., acetic, lactic, maleic, citric, malic, ascorbic, succinic, benzoic, methanesulfonic, toluenesulfonic, or pamoic acid), inorganic acids (e.g., hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, or phosphoric acid), and polymeric acids (e.g., tannic acid, carboxymethyl cellulose, polylactic, polyglycolic, or copolymers of polylactic-glycolic acids). A typical method of making a salt of a peptide of the present invention is well known in the art and can be accomplished by standard methods of salt exchange. Accordingly, the TFA salt of a peptide of the present invention (the TFA salt results from the purification of the peptide by using preparative HPLC, eluting with TFA containing buffer solutions) can be converted into another salt, such as an acetate salt by dissolving the peptide in a small amount of 0.25 N acetic acid aqueous solution. The resulting solution is applied to a semi-prep HPLC column (Zorbax, 300 SB, C-8). The column is eluted with (1) 0.1N ammonium acetate aqueous solution for 0.5 hrs, (2) 0.25N acetic acid aqueous solution for 0.5 hrs and (3) a linear gradient (20% to 100% of solution B over 30 min) at a flow rate of 4 ml/min (solution A is 0.25N acetic acid aqueous solution; solution B is 0.25N acetic acid in acetonitrile/water, 80:20). The fractions containing the peptide are collected and lyophilized to dryness.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the known and potential uses of GLP-1 is varied and multitudinous (See, Todd, J. F., et al., Clinical Science, 1998, 95, pp. 325-329; and Todd, J. F. et al., European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1997, 27, pp. 533-536). Thus, the administration of the compounds of this invention for purposes of eliciting an agonist effect can have the same effects and uses as GLP-1 itself. These varied uses of GLP-1 may be summarized as follows, treatment of: Type I diabetes, Type II diabetes, obesity, glucagonomas, secretory disorders of the airway, metabolic disorder, arthritis, osteoporosis, central nervous system diseases, restenosis, neurodegenerative diseases, renal failure, congestive heart failure, nephrotic syndrome, cirrhosis, pulmonary edema, hypertension, treatment of respiratory distress (U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0235726 A1), and disorders wherein the reduction of food intake is desired. GLP-1 analogues of the present invention that elicit an antagonist effect from a subject can be used for treating the following: hypoglycemia and malabsorption syndrome associated with gastroectomy or small bowel resection.

Accordingly, the present invention includes within its scope pharmaceutical compositions comprising, as an active ingredient, at least one of the compounds of formula (I) or (II) in association with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

The dosage of active ingredient in the compositions of this invention may be varied; however, it is necessary that the amount of the active ingredient be such that a suitable dosage form is obtained. The selected dosage depends upon the desired therapeutic effect, on the route of administration, and on the duration of the treatment. In general, an effective dosage for the activities of this invention is in the range of 1×10⁻⁷ to 200 mg/kg/day, preferably 1×10⁻⁴ to 100 mg/kg/day, which can be administered as a single dose or divided into multiple doses.

The compounds of this invention can be administered by oral, parenteral (e.g., intramuscular, intraperitoneal, intravenous or subcutaneous injection, or implant), nasal, vaginal, rectal, sublingual or topical routes of administration and can be formulated with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers to provide dosage forms appropriate for each route of administration.

Solid dosage forms for oral administration include capsules, tablets, pills, powders and granules. In such solid dosage forms, the active compound is admixed with at least one inert pharmaceutically acceptable carrier such as sucrose, lactose, or starch. Such dosage forms can also comprise, as is normal practice, additional substances other than such inert diluents, e.g., lubricating agents such as magnesium stearate. In the case of capsules, tablets and pills, the dosage forms may also comprise buffering agents. Tablets and pills can additionally be prepared with enteric coatings.

Liquid dosage forms for oral administration include, without limitation, pharmaceutically acceptable emulsions, solutions, suspensions, syrups, elixirs, and the like, containing inert diluents commonly used in the art, such as water. Besides such inert diluents, compositions can also include adjuvants, such as wetting agents, emulsifying and suspending agents, and sweetening, flavoring and perfuming agents.

Preparations according to this invention for parenteral administration include, without limitation, sterile aqueous or non-aqueous solutions, suspensions, emulsions, and the like. Examples of non-aqueous solvents or vehicles are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, vegetable oils, such as olive oil and corn oil, gelatin, and injectable organic esters such as ethyl oleate. Such dosage forms may also contain adjuvants such as preserving, wetting, emulsifying, and dispersing agents. They may be sterilized by, for example, filtration through a bacteria-retaining filter, by incorporating sterilizing agents into the compositions, by irradiating the compositions, or by heating the compositions. They can also be manufactured in the form of sterile solid compositions which can be dissolved in sterile water, or some other sterile injectable medium immediately before use.

Compositions for rectal or vaginal administration are preferably suppositories which may contain, in addition to the active substance, excipients such as coca butter or a suppository wax.

Compositions for nasal or sublingual administration are also prepared with standard excipients well known in the art.

Further, a compound of this invention can be administered in a sustained release composition such as those described in the following patents and patent applications. U.S. Pat. No. 5,672,659 teaches sustained release compositions comprising a bioactive agent and a polyester. U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,760 teaches sustained release compositions comprising a bioactive agent in a gelable form. U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,221, teaches polymeric sustained release compositions comprising a bioactive agent and chitosan. U.S. Pat. No. 5,916,883 teaches sustained release compositions comprising a bioactive agent and cyclodextrin. PCT Publication WO99/38536 teaches absorbable sustained release compositions of a bioactive agent. PCT Publication WO00/04916 teaches a process for making microparticles comprising a therapeutic agent such as a peptide in an oil-in-water process. PCT Publication WO00/09166 teaches complexes comprising a therapeutic agent such as a peptide and a phosphorylated polymer. PCT Publication WO00/25826 teaches complexes comprising a therapeutic agent such as a peptide and a polymer bearing a non-polymerizable lactone.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Also, all publications, patent applications, patents and other references mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference, each in its entirety.

The following examples describe synthetic methods for making a peptide of this invention, which methods are well-known to those skilled in the art. Other methods are also known to those skilled in the art. The examples are provided for the purpose of illustration and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention in any manner.

Boc-βAla-OH, Boc-D-Arg(Tos)-OH and Boc-D-Asp(OcHex) were purchased from Nova Biochem, San Diego, Calif. Boc-Aun-OH was purchased from Bachem, King of Prussia, Pa. Boc-Ava-OH and Boc-Ado-OH were purchased from Chem-Impex International, Wood Dale, Ill. Boc-Nal-OH was purchased from Synthetech, Inc. Albany, Oreg.

EXAMPLE 1

-   ((3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

The title peptide, also referred to herein as ((3F, 4HO)-phenylacetyl⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂; was synthesized on an Applied Biosystems model 433A peptide synthesizer (Foster City, Calif.) using Fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry. A Rink Amide-4-methylbenzylhydrylamine (MBHA) resin (Novabiochem., San Diego, Calif.) with substitution of 0.66 mmol/g was used. The Fmoc amino acids (AnaSpec, San Jose, Calif.) used were Fmoc-Ala-OH, Fmoc-Arg(Pbf)-OH, Fmoc-Asp(tBu)-OH, Fmoc-Gln(Trt)-OH, Fmoc-Glu(tBu)-OH, Fmoc-Gly-OH, Fmoc-lle-OH, Fmoc-Leu-OH, Fmoc-Lys(Boc)-OH, Fmoc-Phe-OH, Fmoc-Ser(tBu)-OH, Fmco-Tyr(tBu)-OH, Fmoc-Thr(tBu)-OH, Fmoc-Trp(Boc)-OH, and Fmoc-Val-OH. The last residue coupled to the resin was 3-Fluoro-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wis.). The synthesis was carried out on a 0.1 mmol scale. The Fmoc groups were removed by treatment with 20% piperidine in N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) for 30 min. In each coupling step, the Fmoc amino acid (3 eq, 0.3 mmol) was first pre-activated in 2 ml solution of 0.45M 2-(1-H-benzotriazole-1-yl)-1,1,2,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate/1-hydroxy-benzotriazole (HBTU/HOBT) in NMP. This activated amino acid ester, 1 ml of diisopropylethylamine (DIEA) and 1 ml of NMP were added to the resin. The ABI 433A peptide synthesizer was programmed to perform the following reaction cycle: (1) washing with NMP, (2) removing Fmoc protecting group with 20% piperidine in NMP for 30 min, (3) washing with NMP, (4) coupling with pre-activated Fmoc amino acid for 1 h. The resin was coupled successively according to the sequence of the title peptide. After the peptide chain was assembled the resin was washed completely by using N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and dichloromethane (DCM).

At the end of the assembly of the peptide chain, the peptide-resin was transferred to a reaction vessel on a shaker and treated with a mixture of TFA, H₂O and triisopropylsilane (TIS) (9.5 ml/0.85 ml/0.8 ml) for 4 h. The resin was filtered off and the filtrate was poured into 200 ml of ether. The precipitate was collected by filtration and washed thoroughly with ether. This crude product was dissolved in a mixture of acetonitrile and aqueous acetic acid solution and purified on a reverse-phase preparative HPLC system with a column (4×43 cm) of C₁₈ DYNAMAX-100 A⁰ (Varian, Walnut Creek, Calif.). The column was eluted over approximately 1 hour using a linear gradient of 90% A:10% B to 50% A:50% B, where A was 0.1% TFA in water and B was 0.1% TFA in acetonitrile. The fractions were checked by analytical HPLC and those containing pure product were pooled and lyophilized to dryness to give 5.6 mg (1.7% yield) of a white solid. Purity was checked by using an analytical HPLC system and found to be 95.1%. Electro-spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis gave the molecular weight at 3312.3 (in agreement with the calculated molecular weight of 3312.6).

EXAMPLE 2

-   (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Pro³⁷, Ser^(38,39))hGLP-1(7-39)-NH₂

The title compound was synthesized substantially according to the procedure described for Example 1 using the appropriate protected amino acids (AnaSpec, San Jose, Calif.). At the end of the assembly of the protected peptide chain, an additional step was added to remove the N-terminal Fmoc- protecting group by using 20% piperidine in NMP for 30 min. The peptide resin was then washed, cleaved, purified and characterized using the procedures described for Example 1. Yield was 7.9%. Purity was 95.0%. Electro-spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis gave the molecular weight at 3629.40 (in agreement with the calculated molecular weight of 3628.00).

The following examples can be made according to the appropriate procedures described hereinabove:

EXAMPLE 3

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Asn³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)-NH₂

EXAMPLE 4

-   ((4-imidazol-carbonyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 5

-   ((3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 6

-   ((3-phenyl-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 7

-   ((4-nitrophenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 8

-   ((3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 9

-   ((4-hydroxyphenylacetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 10

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Ser³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 11

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)N H₂

EXAMPLE 12

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 13

-   (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁷, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 14

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 15

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), βAla³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 16

-   ((3-(4-aminophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 17

-   ((3-(4-nitrophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 18

-   ((3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷) hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂

EXAMPLE 19

-   ((3-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 20

-   (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), β-Ala³⁷, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 21

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 22

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 23

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 24

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 25

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 26

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 27

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 28

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Ava³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 29

-   (Aib^(5,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Ava³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 30

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 31

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 32

-   ((4-aminophenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

EXAMPLE 33

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 34

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 35

-   (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³¹, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 36

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 37

-   (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala^(37,38))hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 38

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁵)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 39

-   (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)NH₂

EXAMPLE 40

-   ((3-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂

Physical data for a representative sampling of the compounds exemplified herein are given in Table 1. TABLE 1 Molecular Molecular Example Weight Weight Purity (%) Number Calculated MS(ES) (HPLC) 1 3312.60 3312.30 95.1 2 3628.00 3629.40 95.0 3 3555.94 3556.50 99.0 4 3254.59 3254.50 97.0 5 3308.68 3309.60 99.0 6 3292.68 3392.50 99.0 7 3323.65 3323.60 96.0 8 3329.10 3329.00 97.2 9 3294.65 3294.50 99.0 10 3528.91 3532.9 97.5 11 3509.95 3509.33 97.7 12 3578.98 3579.20 99.9 13 3564.95 3565.05 99.9 14 3618.01 3618.20 99.9 15 3495.92 3495.60 99.9 16 3307.69 3307.90 99.0 17 3337.68 3337.40 97.0 18 3308.68 3308.60 98.0 19 3328.66 3328.50 97.0 20 3603.99 3603.86 99.3 21 3498.89 3499.29 99.9 22 3537.92 3538.19 97.4 23 3551.95 3552.80 99.9 24 3565.98 3565.62 99.9 25 3550.96 3550.90 99.9 26 3618.01 3618.00 97.0 27 3526.94 3527.20 99.9 28 3540.97 3540.30 99.1 29 3580.01 3579.94 96.7 30 3550.96 3550.89 99.9 31 3470.87 3471.16 99.9 32 3293.67 3293.80 99.0 33 3481.90 3481.80 95.8 34 3578.90 3578.70 98.6 35 3564.95 3564.30 99.9 36 3512.91 3512.54 99.9 37 3498.89 3498.95 99.9 38 3484.90 3484.75 99.9 39 3498.93 3498.87 96.8 40 3324.68 3324.38 98.6

A compound of the present invention can be tested for activity as a GLP-1 binding compound according to the following procedure.

Cell Culture:

RIN 5F rat insulinoma cells (ATCC-# CRL-2058, American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, Va.), expressing the GLP-1 receptor, were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) containing 10% fetal calf serum, and maintained at about 37° C. in a humidifed atmosphere of 5% CO₂/95% air.

Radioligand Binding:

Membranes were prepared for radioligand binding studies by homogenization of the RIN cells in 20 ml of ice-cold 50 mM Tris-HCl with a Brinkman Polytron (Westbury, N.Y.) (setting 6, 15 sec). The homogenates were washed twice by centrifugation (39,000 g/10 min), and the final pellets were resuspended in 50 mM Tris-HCl, containing 2.5 mM MgCl₂, 0.1 mg/ml bacitracin (Sigma Chemical, St. Louis, Mo.), and 0.1% BSA. For assay, aliquots (0.4 ml) were incubated with 0.05 nM (¹²⁵I)GLP-1(7-36) (˜2200 Ci/mmol, New England Nuclear, Boston, Mass.), with and without 0.05 ml of unlabeled competing test peptides. After a 100 min incubation (25° C.), the bound (125I)GLP-1(7-36) was separated from the free by rapid filtration through GF/C filters (Brandel, Gaithersburg, Md.), which had been previously soaked in 0.5% polyethyleneimine. The filters were then washed three times with 5 ml aliquots of ice-cold 50 mM Tris-HCl, and the bound radioactivity trapped on the filters was counted by gamma spectrometry (Wallac LKB, Gaithersburg, Md.). Specific binding was defined as the total (125I)GLP-1(7-36) bound minus that bound in the presence of 1000 nM GLP1(7-36) (Bachem, Torrence, Calif.). 

1. A compound of formula (I), (R²R³)-A⁷-A⁸-A⁹-A¹⁰-A¹¹-A¹²-A¹³-A¹⁴-A¹⁵-A¹⁶-A¹⁷-A 18-A¹⁹-A²⁰-A²¹-A²²-A²³-A²⁴-A²⁵-A²⁶A²⁷-A²⁸-A²⁹ -A³⁰-A³¹-A³²-A³³-A³⁴-A³⁵-A³⁶-A³⁷-A³⁸-A³⁹-R¹, wherein A⁷ is L-His, Ura, Paa, Pta, Amp, Tma-His, des-amino-His, or deleted; A⁸ is Ala, β-Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, Acc, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu, N-Me-Asp or Asp; A¹⁰ is Gly, Acc, β-Ala or Aib; A¹¹ is Thr or Ser; A¹² is Phe, Acc, Aic, Aib, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Cha, Trp or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A¹³ is Thr or Ser; A¹⁴ is Ser or Aib; A¹⁵ is Asp or Glu; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Abu, Ala or Cha; A¹⁷ is Ser, Aib or Thr; A¹⁸ is Ser, Lys or Thr; A¹⁹ is Tyr, Cha, Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, I Nal, 2Nal, Acc or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁵,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Val, Phe or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A²¹ is Glu or Asp; A²² is Gly, Acc, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²³ is Gln, Asp, Asn or Glu; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)e-X³)—C(O); A²⁶ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl)), HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁷ is Glu, Asp, Leu, Aib or Lys; A²⁸ is Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe, Aic, Acc, Aib, Cha or Trp; A²⁹ is Ile, Acc, Aib, Leu, Nle, Cha, Tle, Val, Abu, Ala or Phe; A³⁰ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A³¹ is Trp, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Phe, Acc, Aib, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Cha; A³² is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Phe, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Ala; A³³ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Cha, Ala, Phe, Abu, Lys or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A³⁴ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂), —N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A³⁵ is β-Ala, D-Ala, Gaba, Ava, HN—(CH₂)_(m)—C(O), Aib, Acc, D-Arg or a D-amino acid; A³⁶ is L- or D-Arg, D- or L-Lys, or Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl) or Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl) or D- or L-hArg, D- or L-Orn or HN—CH((CH₂), —N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O), or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A³⁷ is Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Aib, Acc, Act, Apc, Aun, Ava, Pro, Dhp, Dmt, Pip, 3-Hpr, 4-Hpr, L- or D- Arg, L- or D- Asp or Glu, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-tetradecanoyl), or Ser(O-decanoyl); A³⁸ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gin, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Ava, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, or HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O); A³⁹ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gin, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Aun, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O), or deleted; R¹ is OH, NH₂; (C₁-C₃₀)alkoxy, or NH—X²—CH₂-Z⁰, wherein X² is a (C₀-C₂), (C₄-C₉) or (C₁₁-C₁₉)hydrocarbon moiety and Z⁰ is H, OH, CO₂H or CONH₂;

or —C(O)—NHR¹², wherein X⁴ is, independently for each occurrence, —C(O)—, —NH—C(O)— or —CH₂—, and wherein f is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 29 inclusive; each of R² and R³ is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, optionally substituted phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, optionally substituted naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, and hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; wherein the phenyl group of said optionally substituted phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl moiety, and said naphthyl group of said optionally substituted naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl moiety each is, independently for each occurrence, substituted with 1 or more substituents selected, independently for each occurrence, from the group consisting of halo, OH, NH₂, NO₂ and CN; or one of R² and R³ is

 (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, C(O)X⁵,

 wherein Y is H, OH or NH₂; r is 0 to 4; q is 0 to 4; and X⁵ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰ for each occurrence is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, OH, OR⁴, NO₂, CN, and halo; R⁴ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; e is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 4 inclusive; m is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 5 to 24 inclusive; s is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 5 to 10 or from 12 to 20 inclusive; n is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive; each of R¹⁰ and R¹¹ is, independently for each occurrence, H, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

 and R¹² and R¹³ each is, independently for each occurrence, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; provided that: when A⁷ is Ura, Paa or Pta, then R² and R³ are deleted; when R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

 then R¹¹ is H or (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; (i) at least one amino acid of a compound of formula (I) is not the same as the native sequence of hGLP-1(7-38 or -39)NH₂ or hGLP-1(7-38 or -39)OH; (ii) a compound of formula (I) is not an analogue of hGLP-1(7-38 or -39)NH₂ or hGLP-1(7-38, or -39)OH wherein a single position has been substituted by Ala; (iii) a compound of formula (I) is not (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁸)hGLP-1 (7-38)-E, (Lys²⁶(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1 (7-38)-E, (Lys³⁴(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E, (Lys^(26,34)-bis(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1 (7-38)-E, (Arg²⁶, Lys³⁴(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(8-38)-E, (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁶(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E or (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁵(N^(ε)-alkanoyl))hGLP-1(7-38)-E, wherein E is —OH or —NH₂; (iv) a compound of formula (I) is not Z¹-hGLP-1 (7-38)-OH, Z¹-hGLP-1(7-38)-NH₂; wherein Z¹ is selected from the group consisting of: (a) (Arg²⁶), (Arg³⁴), (Arg^(26,34)), (Lys³⁶), (Arg²⁶, Lys³⁶), (Arg³⁴, Lys³⁶), (D-Lys³⁶), (Arg³⁶), (D-Arg³⁶), (Arg^(26,34), Lys³⁶) or (Arg^(26,36), Lys³⁴); (b) (Asp²¹); (c) at least one of (Aib⁸), (D-Ala⁸) and (Asp⁹); and (d) (Tyr⁷), (N-acyl-His⁷), (N-alkyl-His⁷), (N-acyl-D-His⁷) or (N-alkyl-D-His⁷); and (v) a compound of formula (I) is not a combination of any two of the substitutions listed in groups (a) to (d); or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 2. A compound according to claim 1, wherein A¹¹ is Thr; A¹³ is Thr; A¹⁵ is Asp; A¹⁷ is Ser; A¹⁸ is Ser or Lys; A²¹ is Glu; A²³ is Gln or Glu; A²⁷ is Glu, Leu, Aib or Lys; and A³¹ is Trp, Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 3. A compound according to claim 2, wherein A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu or N-Me-Asp; A¹² is Phe, Acc, 1Nal, 2Nal, or Aic; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc or Aib; A¹⁹ is Tyr, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc or Cha; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁸ is Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁹ is Ile or Acc; A³⁰ is Ala or Aib; A³² is Leu, Acc or Cha; and A³³ is Val, Lys or Acc; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 4. A compound according to claim 1, wherein A⁸ is Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c, D-Arg or Acc; A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro, Asp, Aun or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Apc, Act, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, Thr or Aib; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 5. A compound according to claim 4 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; and R¹ is OH or NH₂; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 6. A compound according to claim 5 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein R² is H and R³ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl,


7. A compound according to claim 5 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl or

 ,and R¹¹ is H.
 8. A compound according to claim 7 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein R¹⁰ is (C₄-C₂₀)acyl, (C₄-C₂₀)alkylsulfonyl or


9. A compound according to claim 1, wherein: A⁸ is Ala, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c or D-Arg; and A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, or deleted; X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; e for each occurrence is independently 1 or 2; R¹ is OH or NH₂; R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl or

 and R¹¹ is H; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 10. A compound according to claim 9, wherein R¹⁰ is (C₄-C₂₀)acyl, (C₄-C₂₀)alkylsulfonyl or

 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 11. A compound according to claim 1 wherein said compound is according to the formula: (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Pro³⁷, Ser^(38,39))hGLP-1(7-39)-NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Asn³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38)-NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Ser 33)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁷, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; Aib^(8,35,37),β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), β-Ala³⁷, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34) His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34) Phe³¹ Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, Ava³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Ava³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, Gly³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Gly³)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34) Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁷, D-His³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35), Arg^(26,34), Phe³¹, β-Ala^(37,38))hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, β-Ala³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; or (Aib^(8,35,37), Arg³⁴, Phe³¹, Gaba³⁸)hGLP-1(7-38) NH₂; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 12. A pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of a compound according to claim 1 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.
 13. A method of eliciting an agonist effect from a GLP-1 receptor in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of a compound according to claim 1 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 14. A method of treating a disease selected from the group consisting of Type I diabetes, Type II diabetes, obesity, glucagonomas, secretory disorders of the airway, metabolic disorder, arthritis, osteoporosis, central nervous system disease, restenosis, neurodegenerative disease, renal failure, congestive heart failure, nephrotic syndrome, cirrhosis, pulmonary edema, hypertension, treatment of respiratory distress, disorders wherein the reduction of food intake is desired, hypoglycemia and malabsorption syndrome associated with gastroectomy or small bowel resection, in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of a compound according to claim 1 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 15. A method according to claim 14 wherein said disease is Type I diabetes or Type II diabetes.
 16. A compound of formula (II), R⁷-A⁸-A⁹-A¹⁰-A¹¹-A¹²-A¹³-A¹⁴-A¹⁵-A¹⁶-A¹⁷-A¹⁸-A¹⁹-A²⁰-A²¹-A²²-A²³-A²⁴-A²⁵-A²⁶-A²⁷-A²⁸A²⁹-A³⁰-A³¹-A³²-A³³-A³⁴-A³⁵-A³⁶-A³⁷-A³⁸-A³⁹-R¹,  (II) wherein

A⁸ is Ala, β-Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, Acc, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu, N-Me-Asp or Asp; A¹⁰ is Gly, Acc, β-Ala or Aib; A¹¹ is Thr or Ser; A¹² is Phe, Acc, Aic, Aib, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Cha, Trp or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A¹³ is Thr or Ser; A¹⁴ is Ser or Aib; A¹⁵ is Asp or Glu; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Abu, Ala or Cha; A¹⁷ is Ser, Aib or Thr; A18 is Ser, Lys or Thr; A¹⁹ is Tyr, Cha, Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Acc or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Val, Phe or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A²¹ is Glu or Asp; A²² is Gly, Acc, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²³ is Gin, Asp, Asn or Glu; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Val, Abu, Tle, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁶ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl)), HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁷ is Glu Asp, Leu, Aib or Lys; A²⁸ is Phe, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe, Aic, Acc, Aib, Cha or Trp; A²⁹ is Ile, Acc, Aib, Leu, Nle, Cha, Tle, Val, Abu, Ala or Phe; A³⁰ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A³¹ is Trp, 2-Pal, 3-Pal, 4-Pal, 1Nal, 2Nal, Phe, Acc, Aib, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Cha; A³² is Leu, Acc, Aib, Nle, Ile, Cha, Tle, Phe, (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe or Ala; A³³ is Val, Acc, Aib, Leu, Ile, Tle, Nle, Cha, Ala, Phe, Abu, Lys or (X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰)Phe; A³⁴ is Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A³⁵ is β-Ala, D-Ala, Gaba, Ava, HN—(CH₂)_(m)—C(O), Aib, Acc, D-Arg, a D-amino acid or deleted; A³⁶ is L- or D-Arg, D- or L-Lys, or Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl) or Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl) or D- or L-hArg, D- or L-Orn or HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O), HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O), or deleted; A³⁷ is Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Aib, Acc, Act, Apc, Aun, Ava, Pro, Dhp, Dmt, Pip, 3-Hpr, 4-Hpr, L- or D- Arg, L- or D- Asp or Glu, Lys(N^(ε)-decanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-dodecanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), Lys(N^(ε)-tetradecanoyl), Ser(O-decanoyl), or deleted; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gln, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Ava, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O), or deleted; A³⁹ is D- or L- His, L- or D-Ala, Asn, Gln, Ser, Thr, Acc, Ado, Aib, Apc, Act, Arg, Aun, Gly, β-Ala, Gaba, Lys(N^(ε)-octanoyl), HN—(CH₂)_(s)—C(O), or deleted; R¹ is OH, NH₂; (C₁-C₃₀)alkoxy, or NH—X²—CH₂-Z⁰, wherein X² is a (C₀-C₂₀)hydrocarbon moiety and Z⁰ is H, OH, CO₂H or CONH₂;

or —C(O)—NHR¹², wherein X⁴ is, independently for each occurrence, —C(O)—, —NH—C(O)— or —CH₂—, and wherein f is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 29 inclusive; X⁶,X⁷,X⁸,X⁹,X¹⁰ for each occurrence is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, OH, OR⁴, NO₂, CN, and halo; R⁴ is (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; Z¹,Z²,Z³,Z⁴,Z⁵ for each occurrence is independently selected from the group consisting of H, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, OH, OR⁴, NO₂, CN, and halo; Z¹ and Z² can joint together to form a ring system; e is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 4 inclusive; m is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 5 to 24 inclusive; n is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 1 to 5, inclusive; t is, independently for each occurrence, an integer from 0 to 4, inclusive; each of R¹⁰ and R¹¹ is, independently for each occurrence, H, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

 and R¹² and R¹³ each is, independently for each occurrence, (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; provided that: R⁷ is not C(O)X¹¹, wherein X¹¹ is phenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, naphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl, hydroxy(C₂-C₃₀)alkenyl, hydroxyphenyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl or hydroxynaphthyl(C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; when R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl, —C((NH)(NH₂)) or

 then R¹¹ is H or (C₁-C₃₀)alkyl; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 17. A compound according to claim 16, wherein A¹¹ is Thr; A¹³ is Thr; A¹⁵ is Asp; A¹⁷ is Ser; A¹⁸ is Ser or Lys; A²¹ is Glu; A²³ is Gin or Glu; A²⁷ is Glu, Leu, Aib or Lys; and A³¹ is Trp, Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 18. A compound according to claim 17, A⁷ is 4-imidazol-carbonyl, 4-nitrophenyl-acetyl, 3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl, 4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl, 3-(4-aminophenyl)-propionyl, 3-(4-nitrophenyl)-propionyl, 3-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-propionyl, 3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl or 4-aminophenyl-acetyl; A⁹ is Glu, N-Me-Glu or N-Me-Asp; A¹² is Phe, Acc, 1Nal, 2Nal, or Aic; A¹⁶ is Val, Acc or Aib; A¹⁹ is Tyr, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁰ is Leu, Acc or Cha; A²⁴ is Ala, Aib or Acc; A²⁵ is Ala, Aib, Acc, Lys, Arg, hArg, Orn, HN—CH((CH₂)_(n)—N(R¹⁰R¹¹))—C(O) or HN—CH((CH₂)_(e)—X³)—C(O); A²⁸ is Phe, 1Nal or 2Nal; A²⁹ is Ile or Acc; A³⁰ is Ala or Aib; A³² is Leu, Acc or Cha; and A³³ is Val, Lys or Acc; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 19. A compound according to claim 18, wherein A⁸ is Ala, Gly, Ser, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c, D-Arg, Acc or Gly; A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro, Asp, Aun or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Apc, Act, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, Thr or Aib; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 20. A compound according to claim 19 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; and R¹ is OH or NH₂; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 21. A compound according to claim 16 wherein A3 is Ala, D-Ala, Aib, A6c, A5c, N-Me-Ala, N-Me-D-Ala or N-Me-Gly; A¹⁰ is Gly; A¹² is Phe, 1Nal, 2Nal, A6c or A5c; A¹⁶ is Val, A6c or A5c; A²⁰ is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A²² is Gly, β-Ala, Glu or Aib; A²⁴ is Ala or Aib; A²⁹ is Ile, A6c or A5c; A³² is Leu, A6c, A5c or Cha; A³³ is Val, Lys, A6c or A5c; A³⁵ is Aib, β-Ala, Ado, A6c, A5c D-Arg or Gly; and A³⁷ is Gly, Aib, β-Ala, D-Ala, Pro or D-Asp; A³⁸ is D- or L- His, Asn, Ser, Gly, β-Ala or Gaba; and A³⁹ is Ser, or deleted; X⁴ for each occurrence is —C(O)—; e for each occurrence is independently 1 or 2; R¹ is OH or NH₂; R¹⁰ is (C₁-C₃₀)acyl, (C₁-C₃₀)alkylsulfonyl or

and R¹¹ is H; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 22. A compound according to claim 21 wherein R¹⁰ is (C₄-C₂₀)acyl, (C₄-C₂₀)alkylsulfonyl or

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 23. A compound according to claim 16 wherein said compound is (4Hppa⁷)GLP-1 (7-36)NH₂; (3Hppa⁷)GLP-1 (7-36)NH₂; (phenylacetyl⁷)hGLP-1 (7-36)NH₂; ((3-fluoro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36)NH₂; ((4-imidazol-carbonyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((4-nitrophenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((4-hydroxyphenylacetyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((4-aminophenyl-acetyl)⁷)hGLP-1 (7-36) NH₂; ((3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1 (7-36) NH₂; ((3-phenyl-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((3-(4-aminophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((3-(4-nitrophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; ((3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1 (7-36) NH₂; ((3-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; or ((3-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionyl)⁷)hGLP-1(7-36) NH₂; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 24. A pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of a compound according to claim 16 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent.
 25. A method of eliciting an agonist effect from a GLP-1 receptor in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of a compound according to claim 16 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 26. A method of treating a disease selected from the group consisting of Type I diabetes, Type II diabetes, obesity, glucagonomas, secretory disorders of the airway, metabolic disorder, arthritis, osteoporosis, central nervous system disease, restenosis, neurodegenerative disease, renal failure, congestive heart failure, nephrotic syndrome, cirrhosis, pulmonary edema, hypertension, treatment of respiratory distress, disorders wherein the reduction of food intake is desired, hypoglycemia and malabsorption syndrome associated with gastroectomy or small bowel resection, in a subject in need thereof which comprises administering to said subject an effective amount of a compound according to claim 16 or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.
 27. A method according to claim 26 wherein said disease is Type I diabetes or Type II diabetes. 